At Wilson Ranches Retreat outside Fossil, guests connect with a working Oregon ranch

Wheeler County rancher Phil Wilson was reminded of that recently when one of his heifers gave her best impression of a bucking bronc and left him with a walnut-sized shiner above his left eye.

Life on a working cattle ranch is on display every day at Wilson Ranches Retreat, a bed and breakfast operation that draws visitors from around the world to experience life on a Western cattle ranch.

The Wilsons run 400 pairs of cows and calves, served by 25 bulls and herded by 19 horses and three generations of Wilsons. Their spread covers 22,000 acres of deeded and leased land in the juniper-studded grasslands of Oregon's least populated county.

It's a little like paradise on Earth -- as long as the weather is good, you don't have to test the cows for pregnancy like Phil was doing when he got kicked or pay the bills.

Starting the B&B back in the late '90s was Phil's idea, not so much to pay the bills but to empty the house where he lived. His wife thought he was crazy.

Phil arrived home one too many times after a hard day's work and said that's it, "I'm not introducing myself again to strangers in my own home. They can stay at the house down the road."

Ranchers who live two miles outside Fossil, like the Wilsons, often don't bother to lock their doors. That assumed hospitality means friends bring friends to look around the ranch. Since the B&B was opened 28,000 guests have since paid to stay overnight.

The B&B has a map on a wall covered with push pins placed where the visitors live around the world.

Those who make the journey from Portland may wind up in a guest room next to visitors from South Africa or the Ukraine.

Jeff and Janet Miller of Southwest Portland have been bringing their kids, Lucy, 12, and Jake, 10, for seven years. While mom and daughter were getting ready to go out riding, dad and son were headed to the John Day River.

"We like to help round up the cows," Janet said. "The guys like to fish. Sometimes there will be other kids the same age here. They like to play in the hay bales and look for fossils, feathers and owl pellets. Jake can spend all day looking for lizards."

Guests are pretty much left to create their own fun because, as Nancy Wilson says, "this is not a dude ranch. It's a B&B that happens to be on a ranch."

She starts each morning by serving a family-style ranch breakfast for up to two dozen guests who sleep in the six-bedroom, 4,300-square foot guest house.

After breakfast guests can join in with the ranch work, when appropriate, or go hiking, bird watching, fossil beds touring, picture taking and small town exploring in this very rural part of Oregon. Visits can be timed to when the cows need to be driven to high pasture or calves branded, but ranch work has its own momentum and there is no guarantee.

There is no catered lunch, either. On a recent day when cows needed moving, guests riding along on the cattle drive ate their lunch in the saddle, just like the Wilson crew.

As the day nears its end, when a ruby red sun dipping behind the hills, guests can grill dinner on the barbecue or drive to RJ's, the only restaurant in Fossil.

Which ever dining option ranch guests choose, it will wind down a day unlike any back home.

If you go: Fossil

Get there:

Fossil is 170 miles southeast of Portland, via Interstate 84 to Biggs, then through Wasco and Condon. Wilson Ranches Retreat is two miles outside town.

Lodging:

Rates range from $99 to $179, breakfast included; the largest room sleeps six.

Event:

The ranch is host to one of Wheeler County's biggest-ever events, Tough Mudder, an obstacle race that could bring 6,000 competitors and spectators to the county June 15-16;